Tools used in configuration network and computer system

Network Utilities

Ping
Traceroute/ Tracert/ Tracepath
Ip Config
Nslook
Whois
Nelstal
Finger
Post scan/ Nmap

Ping-

The ping command sends ICMP echo request packets to a destination. For example,
you could run ping google.com or ping 173.194.33.174 to ping a domain name or IP address.
These packets ask the remote destination to reply. If the remote destination is configured to
reply, it will respond with packets of its own. Youll be able to see how long the round-trip time is
between your computer and the destination. Youll see a request timed out message if packet
loss is occurring, and youll see an error message if your computer cant communicate with the
remote host at all.

Tracer / Tracert/ Tracepath- The traceroute, tracert, or tracepath command is similar to

ping, but provides information about the path a packet takes. traceroute sends packets to a
destination, asking each Internet router along the way to reply when it passes on the packet.
This will show you the path packets take when you send them between your location and a
destination.

Ip Config- The ipconfig command is used on Windows, while the ifconfig command is used
on Linux, Mac OS X, and other Unix-like operating systems. These commands allow you to
configure your network interfaces and view information about them.

Nslookup- The nslookup command will look up the IP addresses associated with a domain
name. For example, you can run nslookup howtogeek.com to see the IP address of How-To
Geeks server. Nslookup also allows you to perform a reverse lookup to find the domain name
associated with an IP address. For example, nslookup 208.43.115.82 will show you that this IP
address is associated with howtogeek.com.

Whois- The whois command looks up the registration record associated with a domain name.
This can show you more information about who registered and owns a domain name, including
their contact information.

Netstat- Netstat stands for network statistics. This command displays incoming and outgoing
network connections as well as other network information. Its available on Windows, Mac, and
Linux each version has its own command-line options you can tweak to see different types of
information.

Finger- The finger command is old and is no longer widely used. In theory, this command
allows you to view information about users logged onto a remote computer. If the computer is
running a finger service or daemon, you can use the finger command on your computer to see
whos logged in on that remote computer, their email address, and their full name. In practice,
almost no computers are running a finger service you can connect to.
This utility was a cute idea in the early days of networking where you might want to see who
was logged into the other few computers on your university network, but its not suitable for a
dangerous internet. You dont want people to see your full name and email address when youre
using a computer.

Post scan / nmap- The nmap utility is a common tool used for port scans, but there are
many utilities that can run this sort of scan. A port scan is the process of attempting to connect
to every port on a computer ports 1 through 65535 and seeing if theyre open. An attacker
might port-scan a system to find vulnerable services. Or, you might port scan your own
computer to ensure that there are no vulnerable services listening to the network.

Computer System Configuration

Windows Memory Diagnostic

Resource Monitor
Performance Monitor
Computer Management and Administration
Advanced User Accounts and tool
Disk Cleanup
Group Policy Editor
Registry Editor
Ms Config
System Information

Windows Memory Diagnostic- Windows includes a Memory Diagnostic tool that can
restart your computer and test your memory for defects, like the popular MemTest86 application.
If you want to check your computers memory for errors, you dont need a third-party tool just
open the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool.

Resource Monitor- The Resource Monitor application offers a detailed look at your
computers resource usage. You can view computer-wide CPU, disk, network, and memory
graphics, or drill down and view per-process statistics for each type of resource.
This means that you can see which processes are using your disk or network heavily, view
which processes are communicating with which Internet addresses, and more. The Resource
Monitor provides much more detailed resource statistics than the Task Manager does. You can
launch the Resource Monitor by opening the Task Manager, clicking the Performance tab, and
selecting Resource Monitor. It can also be accessed by searching for Resource Monitor at the
Start menu or Start screen.

Performance Monitor- The Performance Monitor application allows you to collect

performance reports and view them. It can be used to log performance data over time, including
determining how system changes affect performance, or to monitor the performance of a remote
computer in real-time.

Computer Management and Administration-

The Performance Monitor is actually

one of many Microsoft Management Console (MMC) tools. Many of these can be found in
the Administrative Tools folder, but they can be opened in a single window by opening
the Computer Management application. Among other things, this window contains the
following tools:

Task Scheduler: A tool that

allows you to view and customize the scheduled tasks on your computer, in addition to
creating your own custom scheduled tasks.

Event Viewer: A log viewer

that allows you to view and filter system events everything from software installation to
application crashes and blue screens of death.

Shared Folders: An
interface that displays the folders shared over the network on your computer, useful for
viewing what folders are being shared at a glance.

Device Manager: The

classic Windows Device Manager that allows you to view the devices connected to your
computer, disable them, and configure their drivers.

Disk Management: A built-in

partition manager you can use without downloading any third-party tools.

Services: An interface that

allows you to view and control the background services running in Windows.

Advanced User Account tool- Windows contains a hidden User Accounts utility that
provides some options not present in the standard interface. To open it, press WinKey+R to
open the Run dialog, type either netplwiz orcontrol userpasswords2, and press Enter. This

window also contains a shortcut to launch the Local Users and Groups tool, which
offers more user management tasks, but cant be used on Home or standard versions of
Windows.

Disk Cleanup- Windows Disk Cleanup utility isnt quite as hidden as some of the other
utilities here, but not enough people know about it. It will scan your computer for files that can
be deleted, from temporary files and memory dumps to old system restore points and leftover
files from Windows upgrades. It does the same job a PC cleaning utility does, but its free and
doesnt try to extract any money from you. Advanced users may prefer CCleaner, but Disk
Cleanup does a decent job.

Group Policy Editor- The Group Policy Editor is only available on Professional or Ultimate
editions of Windows, not the standard or Home editions. It provides a wide variety of settings
that are designed for use by system administrators to customize and lock down PCs on their
networks, but the local group policy editor also contains some settings that average users might
be interested in. For example, on Windows 8, the group policy editor can be used to disable the
lock screen and skip directly to the log-in screen.

Registry Editor- Sure, everyone knows about the registry editor but its still hidden, with
Microsoft not even providing a Start menu shortcut to it. It must be launched by
typing regedit into the Start menu or Start screen and pressing Enter

Ms Config- The System Configuration window is another classic tool that many people know
about. Prior to Windows 8, which features a startup-program manager built into its Task
Manager, this tool was the only included way of controlling startup programs on Windows. It
also allows you to customize your boot loader, which is particularly useful if you have multiple
versions of Windows installed.

System Information- The System Information utility allows you to view information about
the current computer everything from the model number of its CD-ROM drive to its attached
peripherals, configured environment variables, and startup programs. It doesnt provide the
slickest interface, nor does it provide all the information a third-party system information tool like
Speccy does, but it will display a lot of system information without forcing you to install another
program.

Windows firewall- is a software component of Microsoft Windows that provides

firewalling and packet filtering functions. It was first included inWindows XP
and Windows Server 2003. Prior to the release of Windows XP Service Pack 2 in
2004, it was known as Internet Connection Firewall.